Portable oxygen supply



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. ,1, 1955 IN VEN TOR.

ATTOR/YfV-S March 17,1959 w. F. MOORE. 2,877,766

PORTABLE OXYGEN SUPPLY Filed Feb. 1, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 $20 773 w fi m'alezam A WORN! b M I r United States Patent cc Patented 32332:

Figure is a transverse sectional view on line 5-5 of Figure 4;

2,87 7,7 66 PORTABLE OXYGEN SUPPLY William F. Moore, Coshocton, Ohio; Sylvia Myrtle Moors, administratrix of said William F. Moore, decease Application February 1, 1955, Serial No. 485,412

2 Claims. (Cl. 128-203) This invention relates to a portable oxygen supply and more particularly has reference to a compact assembly whereby one may carry, on his person or in a vehicle in which he is traveling, a container holding a quantity of pure oxygen, together with means to control administering the same can be used to advantages by doctors, rescue squads, etc., so as to provide, in efiect, what amounts to an emergency tent. Additionally, a portable oxygen supply as stated can be used for removing the after efiects of intoxication, for providing oxygen while traveling at high altitudes in automotive vehicles in mountainous country, and to provide oxygen for pilots or air line passengers when pressurized cabins do not exist or when the pressurizing means for such cabins is operating faulty. Still further, a portable oxygen supply, available at low cost, is desirable for use in a home, to permit one to oxygenate the blood after a fatiguing day, to revive an individual in event of a fainting spell. Still further, the device can be used to advantage in cities in which heavy smog conditions exist, to provide a fresh oxygen supply at all times.

The main object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus which is adapted to meet the several desirable purposes noted above.

Another object of importance is to provide apparatus as described which can be manufactured from readily obtainable components, thus to permit the device to be manufactured at low cost.

Still another object is to provide a device as described in which the entire assembly will be compactly designed so as to permit its storage in a small area.

Still another object is to provide a device as stated which can be swiftly placed into use, merely by operation of a simply designed control valve.

Yet another object is to provide means facilitating the filling of a sealed container with a supply of oxygen under pressure, which means will be so designed as to insure that the supply of oxygen will not be lost even if the cap of the container is accidentally removed.

Other objects will appear from the following description, the claims appended thereto, and from the annexed drawing, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Figure l is a front elevational view of the device as it appears when in use;

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken diametrically through the cap;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 taken through the container with the cap removed, a portion of the container being broken away;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figures 2 and 3 in which the cap has been assembled with the container:

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 2, in which a portion of the cap has been broken away, the valve be- .ing shown in open position;

Figure 7 is a top plan view of a container valve;

Figure 8 is a transverse sectional view through the container valve intermediate the opposite ends thereof; and

Figure 9 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to Figure 6 in which the valve plunger has been removed.

The reference numeral 10 has been applied generally to a container, on which is fitted a cap 12 having connected thereto one end of a flexible hose 14 the other end of which is provided with a nose and mouth covering mask 16.

The container 10 is comparatively small, and is preferably of the size and shape used for the dispensing of aerosol type insecticides used in the home. Thus, the container is small enough to be placed in the pocket if necessary, or otherwise, can be compactly housed in the glove compartment of an automotive vehicle or at any other location at which it will be readily accessible if there is a need of oxygen.

The container 10 is adapted to hold a supply of pure oxygen under approximately lbs. pressure per square inch, and integrally formed upon the tapered upper end of the container is an upstanding neck 18 having coarse external threads 20. The neck is formed with a large diameter counterbore 26 opening upon the upper end of the neck, said counterbore being in communication at its inner end with an axial bore 22 reduced in diameter relative to the diameter of the counterbore. The bore 22, at its inner end, merges into the smaller end of a tapered or frusto-conical shaped valve seat 24 which in turn opens into the interior of the container 10.

Disposed axially of the neck 18 within the counterbore 26 and bore 22 is a container valve stem 28 having fixedly secured to the lower end thereof a valve disc 30 shaped complementarily to valve seat 24 so as to snugly engage in said seat when the stem 28 is shifted upwardly within the container. A circumferentially notched collar 32 is slidably mounted in the bore 22, and is secured fixedly to the stem 28. Also fixedly secured to the stem 28, and spaced longitudinally of the stem from the collar 32, is a circumferentially notched collar 34 formed to the diameter of the counterbore 26 and sliding upon the wall of said counterbore. A coil spring 36 is held under compression between the collar 34 and the inner end wall of the counterbore, and normally urges the plunger 28 upwardly, so as to firmly hold the valve disc 30 seated against the seat 24.

When the valve disc is seated the collar 34 is flush with the outer end of the neck 18, as shown in Figure 3.

From the description which has so far been provided, it will be seen that the container can be charged with a supply of pure oxygen under a desired pressure, as for example under 75 lbs. pressure per square inch. During the charging of the container, the valve 30 is unseated, to permit filling of the container. When the container has been properly filled, the valve is permitted to move to its seated position, and thereafter, even if the cap 12 is accidentally removed, the container will at all times be fully sealed against the accidental loss of the pressure.

Referring now to the construction of the cap 12, this includes a cap body 38, integral at its lower end with a depending, threaded skirt 40 adapted to engage the threads 20 of the neck. On the opposite end of the body 38 from the skirt 40 there is formed an axially disposed nipple 42, and formed in the cap body 38 is an axial bore 44 formed intermediate its ends with an offset portion 46. The bore 44 opens at one end through the nipple 42 and at its other end opens into the space circumscribed by the skirt 40, through a low, centrally disposed, boss 48 formed upon the underside of body 38 and having a plurality of radially extending inlet passages 50 communicating with the bore 44.

The offset portion 46 defines a horizontally disposed vlave plunger bore 54, a portion of which is threaded to engage complementary threads formed upon a needle valve plunger 52. Plunger 52 at its outer end has a handle 56 to facilitate rotation of the same, and at its inner end, the plunger 52 is pointed for engaging against a conically shaped valve seat 58 formed in the offset portion 46 of bore 44.

It will be observed that when the cap is applied, and is threaded to its maximum extent downwardly upon the neck 18, the boss 48 will ultimately come into contact with the circumferentially notched collar 34, and will depress said collar to the Figure 4 position thereof, against the restraint of the spring 36. As a result, the valve disc 30 will be unseated, and in view of the circumferential notching of the collars 32, 34, oxygen can flow through the neck into the radial inlet passages 50, whenever the plunger 52 is shifted to an open position such as that shown in Figure 6.

The hose 14, of course, is secured to the nipple 42, and the mask 16 can be any of various Well known types adapted to prevent the admission of outside air so as to cause the user of the mask to draw all of his oxygen supply through the hose or tube 14.

It will be seen that the device represents a highly compact assembly which can be easily manufactured from comparatively inexpensive, readily obtainable individual components. At such time as a supply of oxygen is needed for a purpose, as for example, by an asthma sufferer, the mask 16 is placed over the face, and the valve handle 56 is manipulated to open the control valve plunger 52. Since the valve disc will already be unseated, oxygen will fiow through the tube for inhalation by the user.

It will also be noted that should the cap 12 be accidentally loosened or removed, as soon as it is unthreaded partially off the neck 13, the spring 36 will automatically be free to expand and will cause the valve disc 30 to move to its closed position, thus preventing loss of oxygen.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to 4 be illustrative of the principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor change in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A portable oxygen supply comprising a comparatively small, sealed container adapted to hold a supply of oxygen under pressure; cap means for said container having an end to end bore communicating at one end with the oxygen confining space of the container, the other end of the bore opening upon the outer end of the cap; a tube connectable to said cap at the outer end thereof in communication with the bore; said container includingvalve means spring biased to a closed position for controlling the fiow of oxygen through the bore of the cap; said cap means being movably mounted on said container and having a portion engaging the valve means to shift the same to open position against the restraint of the spring bias thereof upon movement of said cap means to its position of tight closing engagement with the container; and a mask carried by the tube at the outlet end thereof applicable to the nose of a wearer.

2. A portable oxygen supply comprising a container adapted to hold a quantity of oxygen under pressure, said container including valve means spring biased to a closed position to prevent escape of the oxygen; a cap for the container, said cap being threadedly mounted upon the container and when turned home to its maximum extent upon the threads of the container having a portion engaging the valve means to shift the same to open position against the restraint of the spring bias thereof; manually operable control means in the cap, said cap having a bore across which said manually operable control means extends, the bore communicating between the interior of the container and the outer end of the cap; a tube connecting the cap in communication with the bore of the cap; and a mask for the other end of the tube applicable to the nose of a user.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 700,232 Planeus et al May 20, 1902 1,449,047 Johnson Mar. 20, 1923 2,418,036 Lane Mar. 25, 1947 2,510,712 Olowinski June 6, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 4,187 Great Britain Jan. 25, 1912 of 1911 107,990 Great Britain July 26, 1917 

